Estuary: As the picturesque twin towns of Forster and Tuncurry continue to swell leading into the busy Xmas Holidays, the fishing only seems to be getting better and better. If sales are anything to go by, Cranka Crabs continue to be a standout lure choice for those wishing to trick one of the wily local Bream or even for those wishing to score a feed of Flathead and Whiting. The Flathead continue to fish really well, again plastics seem to be the way to go, however a few visiting anglers found great numbers of fish doing a simple drift in Breckenridge Channel using Whitebait. The Prawns have been running really well and seem to be of good size, definitely worth the late nights! They also make for terrific live bait so be sure to have one soaking while you scoop up a feed. The crabbing has also been fairly consistent, a lot of small crabs but still plenty of legal sized ones in between.

Beaches: The Beach reports have been fairly slow this week, the weather has been far from favourable for a fish along the beach. From what I have heard there appears to be some great Whiting fishing to be had by those wishing to soak a pipi or beach worm along 9 Mile Beach. The added bonus in using Beach Worms being the very real chance of running into a Mulloway. There have been some monster Mulloway caught over the years by anglers using a rig consisting of 12lb line, #4 Long Shank hooks and a piece of Beach Worm!

Rocks: The local ledges seem to be alive with Kingfish at the moment! Most fish are what some refer to as ‘rats’, sized between 45-60cm. I struggle with the term “Rat Kings” as it almost sounds derogatory towards the small kingfish, on the right gear even a 50cm Kingfish is awesome fun, they hit hard (often on the surface) and pull like freight trains! Along with Kingfish, Bigeye Trevally and Tailor have also made a bit of an appearance over the last week.

Offshore: The Snapper seem to have fired up again towards the end of this week. The water quality seems to be on the improve and the fishing is improving with it. Those anglers who are keen to fish before dawn or into the evening are almost guaranteed a hot session on the Teraglin and can expect to see some bigger sized fish at this time of the year. The water temperature is still a little cool for the pelagics that so many are waiting for, the FAD is fairly devoid of life apart from a few small Kingfish.

On behalf of all of the Great Lakes Tackle Team, I would like to wish everybody the happiest of Christmases. Enjoy your holidays and please remember to be patient and kind to one another at this busy time of the year, particularly at our local boat ramps!